Family Hsicret
by Tatsurou-san
Summary: Sequel to "Hsicret Wuv" and "Dirty Little Hsicret." Jade and Cielo - the former Hsi Wu - have come to terms with their relationship, and are ready to live their lives together. However, their families are less pleasantly disposed, and the troubles they face are just beginning, as darkness closes in in many forms. Apologies to Shakespear for the chapter titles.
1. Toil and Trouble

1. Toil and Trouble

Captain Black came into Uncle's Antique Shop and headed into the back. He smiled as he saw everyone who was waiting for him. "I'm glad you could meet me here, team," he said, sitting down at the table.

"Hey, you called, we answered," Viper said from her seat near Jackie. The small room meant that everyone had to sit a little closer together...or so she had told Jackie.

"I am somewhat confused, though," El Toro said from where he was sitting. "Why have us meet here? Could we not have met at Section 13?"

Captain Black shook his head. "Unfortunately, this particular matter has been deemed untouchable by Section 13, officially. However, I feel you four have the best chance of handling this properly." Captain Black glanced around at those gathered. Here was Jackie, Tohru, El Toro, and Viper, the so called J Team. As that thought crossed his mind, he glanced around. "Okay, I know Jade's eavesdropping somewhere. Where is she?"

Jackie shook his head. "She's not here. It's Saturday."

Captain Black glanced at Jackie. "I know. No school, so where-"

"Same place she's been every Saturday for the past two months," Jackie said, grinning. "With Cielo."

Captain Black sighed. "Didn't think of that. I guess it makes sense, though, all things considered." A thought struck him, and he turned to Uncle, who had come in after closing the shop. "Any ideas how he came back to life? I mean, we saw him dead, and then Jade comes back from her long walk with him alive and well-"

"Uncle does not look gift horse in mouth!" Uncle interrupted. "CIelo is alive, and there has been no alterations to his chi or spiritual nature. That is enough for Jade, and certainly enough for Uncle!"

Captain Black nodded. "Okay. I guess I can accept that. There's certainly a lot here I don't understand. Have there been any side effects?"

Uncle shrugged. "Cielo has only complained of minor neck pain, but he is averse to chiropractic treatment!"

Captain Black chuckled. "GIven the circumstance, I can't say I blame him!"

Jackie chuckled. "He is seeking alternative treatment, from what I have seen. Don't tell the kids this, but last Saturday, I caught Jade giving Cielo a neck rub."

Captain Black smiled. "Kids." He shook his head as the others gave knowing chuckles. "Now, as for why I called you here..." He pulled out a folder and set it on the table, opening it up. "I'm sure you all remember this person from previous encounters."

The folder contained a psych report, as well as a picture of the patient. "Bartholomew Chang," Jackie said quietly. No one else said anything.

Captain Black nodded. "As you'll recall, with Gratch's assistance we were able to get him locked up in a facility for the criminally insane. While not our initial intention, it was effective, and prevented him from contacting any resources on the outside we didn't know about." Captain Black sighed. "However, it may have backfired on us. You see, Bartholomew Chang - with help from his fellow inmates - escaped from the facility recently. And, according to their records, while there he suffered a full on psychotic break. It is the professional opinion of the Doctors there that it is his intention to pursue his newfound obsession with Jade."

"But Captain Black," Jackie said, confused. "Chang has always been obsessed with jade."

Captain Black looked at Jackie intently. "Not the stone, Jackie. The person. Bartholomew Chang, in his new madness, has reached the conclusion that everything that has happened to destroy his ambitions and successes is because of your neice. He has become obsessed with her destruction, and it is the professional opinion of the doctors that he intends to pursue that goal. I called you all here - not to organize an attempt to capture Chang - but to find a way to ensure Jade's safety until he is taken down." Captain Black sighed. "But for today at least she should be safe enough. Cielo's house is practically a fortress, and after seeing Sebastian fight, I know none of Chang's new crew will get through-"

"AIYAH!" Uncle cried out. "This is terrible!"

"I know, Uncle," Captain Black said. "That's why we're planning-"

"No! Jade and Cielo are not at his house today! Today they are going on their first date!"

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Jade groaned, shaking her head. She winced at the pain in her head, wrists, and ankles. She opened her eyes and glanced around at her surroundings. She seemed to be hanging in the center of a badly lit room, most of the light shining on her. She did, however, notice something against the wall. In her heart, she could sense who it was. "Ci!" she hissed. "You okay?"

Cielo groaned. "Was it an elephant this time, or another truck?" Cielo opened his eyes. He was chained to the wall, unable to move. Manacles bound him at both wrists and ankles, and there seemed to be something etched into the manacles.

"Ci! Glad you're awake. Can you get us out of here?"

Cielo started to focus. The manacles' etchings began to glow. Cielo quickly opened his eyes as the glow faded. "I recognize that sensation too well. Anti-magic chains, the same kind Drago used against me. Heck, the same chains he used. I'm stuck."

Jade cursed. "So I'm tied up and completely at someone's mercy, huh?" She sighed.

Cielo grinned. "Not exactly the best ending for a first date, huh?"

"I don't know," Jade said, smirking. "It wouldn't be so bad if it were your place."

Cielo stared at her. "Jade, you are too young to be joking like that."

"Who says I'm joking? Kidding, kidding," she said at Cielo's shocked expression. "You know," she mused, "if I were the suspicious sort, I'd take this as a bad omen for our relationship."

Cielo smirked. "If?"

Jade smirked at him. "If I were the suspicious sort, would I be dating you?" Her warm smile took the sting out of the barb.

"Touche."

"Hey, I can't really see all that much. Can you tell me what the situation is?"

"Well, we're royally screwed, but beyond that-"

"I meant what's actually happening." Jade rolled her eyes. "Gimme a sit rep."

Cielo chuckled. Then he got serious. "Well, you're tied up, hanging from the rope attatched to the ceiling by your wrists and ankles, pulled behind your back."

"That explains the pain. Also the draft. I don't care how cute you say I look in them, Cielo, I'm never wearing a skirt again."

"Dully noted." CIelo focused a bit more. "The rope also binds your entire body, crisscrossing..." His voice trailed off.

"Ci?" she asked, a little scared.

"I know those knots..." Ci suddenly started muttering, and the chains flared with light. He screamed in pain.

"Ci! What are you doing?" Jade asked, shocked.

A voice came from nearby. "It seems he knows what's coming, little girl."

Jade flinched at that voice. "Chang!" She managed to smirk. "How was your stay in the psych ward?"

Chang chuckled. "Quite enlightening. You see, Jade, I had a long time to think." Chang stepped into the light. He looked terrible. His eyes were sunken, he wore the clothes from his imprisonment - white scrubs and a straightjacket untied - badly torn, and no shoes. The only thing that did look the same was his right hand, the artificial one with the blades he'd somehow managed to recover. "You see, I realized...everything that's gone wrong for me, everything that brought my once mighty empire low, that brought me down and locked me up...it's all your fault, Jade. All...your...fault." He leaned in, staring into Jade's eyes. "And for that, I seek revenge. I am going to destroy you."

Jade turned her head away. "If you're going to kill me, just do it and get it over with. At least then I won't have to smell your breath or hear your voice."

"Kill you?" Chang leaned back, laughing insanely. "Who said anything about killing you?" He seized part of the rope and gave it a yank.

Jade gasped as the ropes across her body tightened cruelly, cutting off circulation in some parts. "But...you said..."

Chang grinned. "I said I was going to destroy you." He pulled back his artificial hand, and the blades extened. "And I'm going to enjoy every minute of it." He swung forward.

Jade flinched back, expecting pain. No pain came, but she suddenly felt a draft where she knew she shouldn't. Suddenly, everything that was happening - from Chang's words, to the bindings, to Cielo's continued struggles to break free despite the agony of the chains - clicked together in her head, and she screamed in fear as she realized what Chang intended.

Chang laughed insanely. "Seems you see it too, now. Good. That just makes this more fun." He pulled back his hand to strike again. Then there was a strange pinging sound, and he paused. "What the-"

Suddenly, a sink nearby suddenly flew off the pipes, knocking Chang back as a torrent of water erupted from the pipes. Jade stared as the torrent of water arced forward, touching the ground. As the torrent continued, the water seemed to take shape, forming a person from feet upward. When the torrent subsided, Jade saw a very strange figure before her.

He had a pale blue skin, and wore white armor of some sort over chest, legs, and head, the head part forming what looked from the back like what might be an open faced helmet. From the outside of the arms and along the shoulder blades, green-yellow spikes extended. The man appeared somewhat well musceled, and there was something familiar about him.

Chang shifted the sink and stood. "How dare you!" he snapped, lunging for the man.

The man struck forward, catching Chang's arm. There was a series of sickening snaps, and Chang fell to the ground, whimpering in pain from having breaks in all his limbs. The door burst open, and other former psychiactric inmates charged in, shouting.

The strange man danced backwards, making a beckoning motion with his arm. Water shot out of the pipes and walls, dancing around him. Jade stared as he guided the water to strike at the thugs, in waves or whips, striking with crushing force and deadly accuracy. Before long the water subsided, and all the foes had been felled. Jade began to shiver as the strange man turned. But then she realized his face - despite being blue - seemed familiar. And those shades...

The man glanced at his hand, and at the carnage he had wrought. "Sweet!" he said, and his voice confirmed his identity.

"Ch-Chow?" Jade gasped quietly, shocked. She tried to say more, but her circulation was cut off by the ropes still binding her. She was starting to lose conciousness.

Chow thrust forward with his hand. His arm extended, as it turned partially into water, and his hand split. There was the sound of something being shredded, and Jade dropped to the ground, letting out a brief "Oomph!" from impact. She remained where she was, letting her circulation fix itself and letting the ground cover her.

Chow turned to where Cielo still struggled with his chains, the white light showing how much he was still trying to break free. Leaning in, he exhaled on one of the manacles, his breath coming out icy cold. The manacle he was breathing on slowly froze, then cracked. The glow from it faded.

Reacting quickly, Cielo focused his magic into that hand and struck three times. The other manacles shattered at the blows. Falling to the floor, Cielo crawled forward and pulled Jade into his arms. "Jade! Are you alright?" he asked, somewhat frentic.

"...I don't think I like it rough..." Jade mumbled before losing conciousness.

Cielo held her close, rocking her gently. Chow stepped back. "I'm sure you can take it from here." As Cielo looked up, Chow's body returned to water, slipping down a drain, his glasses dissappearing last of all.

As Cielo heard the sound of approaching authorities, he wondered what on earth was going on.

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Chow's body reformed in a different place, far from the site of the battle. "Never get tired of that," he mumbled to himself. He looked up at two figures who stepped out of the shadows. "Yo! Fin, Ratso!"

Fin and Ratso stepped forward, their appearance similarly altered like Chow's. "Yo, Chow!" Ratso said. "Good to see ya!"

"The boss wants to talk to you," Fin said. "I think you might be in trouble."

Chow nodded, and walked deeper into the temple like structure. Reaching what closely resembled a throne room, he went to one knee and waited.

A voice issued from the shadows of the throne. "Why did you disobey orders?"

Chow kept his head down and replied, "I know my orders were only to observe, but there are some things a man can't allow, whatever the situation. The girl's been through enough, and I consider her a friend. I won't let her be put through something like that."

There was silence from the throne. Then the voice spoke again, softer. "Why did you wait so long before acting?"

"For the same reason you had me watching," he said, explaining no further.

There was silence for a time. "Rise, my pet," the voice said again, silky smooth. "I am pleased. You did quite well."

Chow stood and looked upon the one on the throne. Although much of the body resembled Bai Tsa, the young woman on the throne was slimmer, and her face - save for color - was entirely human. She had dark blue hair and sea green eyes, and she was smiling at Chow. "Thank you, Liquidelle," he said at last. 


	2. Something Wicked? This Way Comes

2. Something Wicked? This Way Comes

Once Captain Black's men - called in under different orders - succesfully recovered Jade and Cielo - as well as capturing Chang and his crew - Captain Black attempted to investigate the events to figure out what had happened. Unfortunately, since the only evidence left behind was the blood shed by Chang's thugs, large puddles of water, broken piping and masonry, and the shredded remains of the ropes, there wasn't enough to give answers. As such, Captain Black decided to go sit down with Jade and Cielo and ask them about what had happened. He'd hoped to give them more time to recover, but he needed answers...fast.

They'd been placed in the medical wing of Section 13, for treatment of their injuries. Although neither seemed to injured - beyond Jade's possible concusion - it was plain they'd both been through a rather trying ordeal. Jade and Cielo had been placed in beds side by side in the infirmary while their injuries were treated. Although Jade hadn't regained conciousness, the doctors and Uncle both asserted that it was just ordinary exhaustion, and that she'd wake up just fine by morning. When Captain Black entered the infirmary, though, he found Cielo had woken up, left his bed, and was sitting in a chair next to Jade, holding her hand while she slept. Captain Black smiled to himself. The loyalty these two had for each other always caught him off guard, since such strong bonds were so rare in this day and age.

"She hasn't woken up yet, I take it?" he asked Cielo quietly, as he came to sit down nearby.

Cielo shook his head. "Not yet. She stirred briefly, but settled back into sleep. The whole event was rather rough on her. ...she's going to recover just fine, though."

"Oh? How do you know?"

Cielo was quiet for a while. "Well...once I was certain she was sleeping...I did a quick Astral Projection into her dreams to check on her."

Captain Black stared. "You can do that?"

"It's a complicated spell without the Sheep Talisman, but not impossible." Cielo shook his head. "I found she was expecting me though."

"Really? So she'll be alright?"

"Yeah. She'll be fine." Cielo kept his eyes on Jade's face. "It was rough on her, but it was short enough she'll get over it."

"Speaking of, Cielo, I need to ask you a few questions about what happened."

"Chang had Jade tied up in Japanese Rope Bondage, hanging by a rope from the ceiling. It was his intention to rape her until her spirit was broken, as his vengeance against her for what he percieved as the cause of his downfall." Cielo held up his left hand, where bandages were wrapped around his wrist. "I was unable to help her, as I was bound in anti-magic chains, the same ones Drago used on me. I fought them from the moment I realised what Chang intended, which resulted in burning both wrists and ankles. Someone - I didn't see who - used water element demon magic to break in, stop Chang, and free us both." Cielo met Captain Black's eyes. "Does that answer all your questions?"

Captain Black stared in shock. "Woah. Are...are you sure Jade's going to be all right? I mean, after something like this..."

Cielo shrugged. "I spoke with her in her dreams. She will be fine." Cielo smiled to himself, remembering how that conversation had gone. When he had entered her sleeping mind, she had been having a nightmare regarding the events, but was oddly calm. He had asked about that, offering to supress the memories of the event so she wouldn't dream about this. She had refused, saying that she was strong enough to handle this, and that these nightmares were easier to deal with than the nightmares about her year in demon world, and weren't nearly as vivid. *Only Jade could find good in something like this,* Cielo thought to himself.

Captain Black nodded. "If you're certain. Still, I'd prefer it if there was something I could do for her...if nothing else, to keep her safe from things like this."

Cielo smirked. "Bodyguards and the like would only increase the impact this had on her life. But don't worry, I've taken care of the situation." He pointed to the head of the bed. "I summoned her as soon as I woke up."

Standing poised on the bars at the head of the hospital bed was a small furry creature, somewhat similar in appearance to Gratch...similar enough, at any rate, to recognize as another example of gorilla-bat. She was much smaller, however, about the size of a small dog, and seemed feminine. Also, the wings were feathered. She was standing there, poised, watching Jade sleep. When the discussion turned to her, however, she looked up at Cielo and Captain Black and made a strange gurgling sound, plainly a laugh. She blinked large green eyes framed in a dark brown, furry face.

Captain Black smiled. "She's adorable, but I don't see how she can help protect Jade-"

"She's the top ranked Battle Master of Hsi Wu's Gorilla-Bat army."

Captain Black smirked. "I'm sure that's quite impressive-"

"Gratch is rank 2."

Captain Black's jaw dropped. "You're saying she's stronger than Gratch? That precious little-"

Cielo put a finger to Captain Black's lips. "Don't call her a-n-g-e-l. She's sensitive about her feather wings, as they were long considered a sign of a sub-standard gorilla-bat. Amongst her kind, the use of the a-word to describe a feather winged gorilla-bat is equivalent to using the n-word to describe an African American human."

Captain Black's eyes widened in shock. "Right. But...she's just a little girl..."

Cielo smirked. "So is Jade."

"Point. So, what's her name?"

"Gurgle."

Captain Black blinked. "...Gurgle?"

Gurgle chortled happily, walking down the bed to sit next to Cielo, where he proceeded to stroke her between her ears. She began to emit a sound similar to rocks being crushed into powder, which Captain Black realized was her purr. "The Battle Master's chose their own names when they passed the Trials to achieve the rank. Gurgle was so surprised that she passed the trials - and as the strongest Battle Master - that she could only chuckle nervously when asked to choose her name. Thus, she recieved the name Gurgle."

Captain Black reached out and began to stroke Gurgle under her chin. "So, why did Gratch pick his name, then?"

Cielo smiled. "Because, in the Gorilla-bat tongue, it means 'a true friend.'"

Captain Black chuckled. "It fits him. So, Gurgle's Jade's new hidden defender?"

"Something like that. She's gonna sit at the top of Jade's backpack from now on, or on her shoulder."

Captain Black looked nervously. "Won't that draw-"

Gurgle shrugged her shoulders, and she suddenly turned into a parrot.

Captain Black blinked. "-attention? Never mind."

Meanwhile, in the middle of the city...

"So, Fin," Ratso said, "What are we doing here again?"

"You don't remember, Ratso? We're here to find the descendant of the High Priest of Bai Tsa's mortal followers."

"And why are we doing that?"

"Cause the boss lady told us to."

"How are we doing that?"

"With this gem!" Fin held up a blue gemstone. "According to the boss lady, it will glow in the presence of someone of that bloodline, and the spell on the gem will make that person lose conciousness when they look at it. Now come on, boss lady said they'd be somewhere in this part of the city."

As Fin and Ratso proceeded down the street, many people ran away, frightened of what looked like monsters. One person, however, did not run away. A young woman with dishwater blonde hair and blue-grey eyes ran towards the two of them, holding something from her wrist in her hand and chanting under her breath. "Ji?d ji?d b?lu ji?d , b?lu s?ng ji?d , p t s p h?..." The beads on her wrist were glowing with chi as she ran forward.

"Woah!" Fin said, prepping himself for combat, holding the gemstone out forward without realising it. As the woman approached, the gem suddenly flared to life, glowing brightly. The light of the gem drew the young woman's eyes, and as she gazed into the gems depths she slowly fell forward, her eyes closing, the glow from the beads fading.

Ratso caught the girl as she fell. "Hey!" he said suddenly. "I know this girl!"

"Of course you do Ratso. Come on,let's-"

"You know her too, Fin! Take a look!"

Fin leaned down and examined the young woman closer. "Wait, is that-?"

"Uh huh! It's her!" Ratso blinked for a bit. "Chow's not gonna like this."

"Well, he can take it up with the boss lady. I'm not crossing her." With that, Fin spun, and his body became a whirlpool. "Let's go." The whirlpool moved over Ratso and the girl, and all three vanished.

Li slowly stirred, struggling to regain conciousness. The last thing she remembered, she had been on her way to her shift when she saw people running away from what looked like demons. While she knew she wasn't strong enough to get involved, there were children running, and if nothing else, she could protect them. She had run forward, holding her prayer beads and chanting, knowing that would provide some protection. She'd had time to notice the demons looked familiar at closer range, but then all she could recall was a blue light, and something stirring inside her, followed by darkness.

As she stirred now, she heard a familiar voice...angry. "Why did you tell them to bring her here?"

"Patience, my pet," said another voice, this one hissing and silky smooth. "This is not your concern."

"Like hell it's not!" the familiar voice snapped. "I'm not gonna let you hurt my little monkey!"

That...that was Chow! What was going on?

"You will not defy me!" The hissing voice was no longer soft, but hard. There was a wet smack, followed by a splashing sound of water hitting a wall. Then Chow could be heard growling again. The hissing voice sighed. "She will come to no harm by MY hand, of that you can be certain. Now stand down!"

Chow's growl subsided, almost petulantly.

Li struggled to open her eyes, and then she felt a presence near her and her eyes snapped open. She stared into deep green eyes in a pale blue face, framed by dark blue hair. "Welcome, Priestess," the hissing voice said from the face.

Li didn't know what was going on, but one thing was certain. She SO wasn't making her shift... 


	3. Offending Shadows

3. Offending Shadows

"Alright troops! We get in, shut that thing down, and get out. Move it!"

"Sir, yes sir!" the troops responded in unison, Pascal along with them. They were his fellow soldiers, all trained like him for missions just like this one. It was early spring, 1945. World War 2 was winding down, as German forces were beginning to surrender now that they were being pushed back. Pascal Leblanc and his fellow troops were a special force drawn from all allied nations, trained for one specific purpose.

As his power began to decline, Adolf Hitler turned to the occult to preserve his reign and increase his power. While history would brazenly gloss over this later, what was not known to the world at large was how close his experiments were coming to success. That was the job of this Top Secret unit, The Paladins: to make sure it stayed that way.

They'd been training for the past five years, originally as an assassination squad, but when the experiments - and their success - came to the attention of their superiors, their mission was changed. Now, it was their job to find the experiments, determine their purpose, shut them down...and eliminate everyone involved.

The training was nearly continuous, and the soldiers were more than just a cohesive unit. They were friends, a family in a way. But they all counted on Pascal. He was their expert, the one who could interpret the experiments and know how to shut them down. He had a knack, and everyone counted on it.

This was the 13th experiment they would be shutting down. While most of the troops joked about unlucky 13, they were all nervous. Given that they were dealing with the occult, superstition suddenly had much more weight.

As they broke into the facility, Pascal stayed towards the center of the unit. While he was just as good with a gun as any of the others, he was the only one with a success rate on shutting down the experiments, and it was plain as soon as they broke in that this was a big one. A pair of large metal circles orbited each other, spinning. In their center, a pulsating, sooty red glow slowly expanded.

The front soldiers took on the enemy combatants, rapidly taking down soldiers and scientists alike. Policy was that this knowledge was too dangerous for the world, so anyone in possession of it had to be eliminated. This was the last mission, and before long it would all be over.

When the lab was silent - save for the breathing of his fellow troops and the hum of the device - Pascal moved forward to examine the controls. "What is it, Corporal?" the commander asked him.

"It seems to be a portal of some sort," Pascal said after some time. "According to the reports, they intended to summon demonic troops to swell their ranks and gain decisive victory. Looks to be only a few hours from completion, at which point it will start calling forth demons by the scores."

"Well we can't allow an incursion on that magnitude!" the commander said flatly. "Shut it down, Corporal!"

"Yes sir!" Pascal began going through the shut down sequence. At first, it seemed like it was working...but then the rings started to spin faster, and the glow started to pulse more brightly. "Something's wrong!" He began searching for the problem. "Dammit, there's a dead man switch on the portal itself! I'm going to need to shut it down manually!" Running towards the portal, he ducked under the outer ring.

"Corporal!" he heard the commander shout, but he wasn't able to respond. Pain cascaded over his body, but he bit down and pushed forward. Getting under the second ring, he reached the base, but the pain had increased ten fold. Fighting through the pain, he reached forward and pulled the manual shut off lever.

The portal exploded. The red light cascaded over Pascal, and he screamed in agony as he felt the demonic energies permeate his being. When the light faded, he fell against the ground and began to vomit. He kneeled there, retching as the smoke began to clear. When he could see again, he was shocked to find that his vomit was a neon green, glowing with an ungodly light, and that green mist rose from it. "What?" he asked in shock, noticing his voice sounded different, then staring at that same mist pouring from his mouth. He looked at his hands and saw green claws punching through the gloves of his uniform, and spikes along his arms.

"Okay!" the commander was shouting. "One got through! Looks like it's still disoriented, so let's take it out!"

"But sir!" one of the soldiers shouted. "What about Pascal?"

"He's gone soldier! Now finish the mission he died for!"

"Sir yes sir!" The soldiers all leveled their weapons at Pascal.

He stared, disbelieving, that his fate was to die at the hands of his own unit, after becoming that which he was trained to prevent.

Suddenly, all the men - the commander included - staggered a bit. Their eyes rolled up in their heads and they fell.

"How frail these humans be," said an etheral, feminine voice as Pascal spun to face its source. "Both in body, and in bonds. Though their frailty can become their strength. They did not know it was you, and so would kill you for your sake. How ironic."

The speaker appeared to be a German woman in her early 20s, but she walked like a queen. Her blonde hair cascaded down her back, and her blue eyes sparkled with tolerant amusement. She was dressed in the same garb as the scientists, apparently a lab assistant of some sort. She continued to speak.

"But then, the humans who did this were just as much the fools. Of the demons they could have summoned, the weakest are no better than human troops, and lack the training to be effective as soldiers, or the sentience to obey. Those that make good soldiers are all bound to a demon master, and no demon master would accept human enslavement. Their grand experiment would have amounted to nothing, and only hastened their destruction." She stared at the remains of the portal for a time.

Pascal spoke up. "What did you do to my friends, demon?" The way she refferred to humans, and her familiarity with these things, gave him that information.

She turned to him, an amused smile on her lips. "They tried to kill you, and still you call them friends?"

"They didn't know it was me, and were following orders to complete the mission."

The woman laughed, a quiet laugh that belied her youthful appearance. "Your loyalty does you credit. Fear not, they are only unconcious. A slight manipulation of the fluids of the inner ear and the body enters a state of unconciousness. They will come to outside, with the facility destroyed, and know their mission to be complete." She kneeled down before him. "The question I put to you is...do you wish to be here when I destroy this place? Or do you have other plans."

Pascal exhaled, the mist once more leaving his mouth with his breath. "I can't go back like this."

The young woman sniffed the mist. "Indeed. The gas you are exhaling is lethal to humans. An incredibly deadly poison, it would even incapacitate most lesser demons temporarily, even kill some of the weaker ones." She grew thoughtful. "If I had need to breathe, it would even prove confounding to me." She was quiet for a time. "If you will let me, I would like to help you."

His head shot up. "Why?" he demanded. He didn't know much lore, but he was a bit suspicious of the situation.

"You intriuge me. You have been transformed into a half-demon...and one of great power. However, you lack the control those who grow up with such abilities would have by the time they reached your level of strength. I would like to help you learn that control."

Pascal sat for a time. "What would it cost me?" he asked at last.

She smiled. "Your service. My studies have shown that, while human meddling with the demonic is inevitable, scientific meddling could be disastrous to human and demon alike. While many demons seek to tear the veil that seperates the demon realms from the human world, these experiments may well cause the worlds to merge, which would destroy both. It is my intention, therefor, to seek out those scientists conducting such experiments and end their studies...and their lives, if neccessarry. Come serve me in this regard, and in reward I shall teach you all I can, and help you to achieve control of your powers. You may leave my service whenever you like, and take what I have taught you until then as your payment."

Pascal thought for a time. Each of them was trading something small for something big. Her teaching him to control his powers would make him a more effective agent, and she wouldn't be seeking his aid if she didn't feel she needed it. While he needed to learn to control his powers, what she asked in retrun was simply a continuation of his mission, with expanded perameters. He met her gaze. "I am Pascal Leblanc," he said simply.

She smiled at him. "I am called Luna."

"Show me your true face, Luna," he said, "and we have a deal."

Smiling, she discarded her human form.

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It had been sixty years since that fateful day that changed Pascal's life forever. He had served Luna faithfully, seeking out those scientists who were studying the demonic and sabotaging their research, killing the scientists when neccessarry. As each death looked like a terrible lab accident, research in this field had taken a steep decline.

Luna had also kept her word. Placing a powerful enchantment upon the gas mask that had been a part of Pascal's own uniform, she showed him how it now worked in reverse, filtering the poison he exhaled out of his breath, letting normal air exit. Wearing it concealed his altered face, as well as contained his poisonous exhalation. Luna had checked the potency of his poison breath, and said his strength was such that - were he pureblood - he would be rated an elemental, or demon sorcerer. She was teaching him what she knew of manipulating an element, as she herself was heir to one.

Pascal had grown quite close to Luna over their 60 year association, and she to him. Often, their interactions were not that of Mistress and servant, but of old friends. Although Pascal kept silent on the matter, he had developed some feelings for the demon girl.

Just recently, though, she gave him orders he did not understand. However, his soldier training was extensive, and he knew obedience was more important then understanding. And so he obeyed, taking his post hidden along the rooftops of San Fransisco.

*But still,* he thought to himself, watching the pair of pre-teens smile and laugh, *what is so important about these two that I am to observe them?* Noticing another demonic presence, he watched the blue humanoid on the other rooftop carefully. *And why am I not the only one so observing?* 


	4. Another Try

4. Another Try

"Jade, are you sure you're okay?" Jackie asked his neice, full of concern.

Jade smiled up at him. "Don't worry, Jackie. I'm fine. I know what happened the first time around was rough...but if I let every first bad experience scare me away, where would I be?"

Thinking back, Jackie could see her point. "I guess...but are you sure you're ready?"

"Psh! Like that's ever stopped me before." Her smile faded, and she got serious. "I don't know if I could call myself ready, but if I waited till I was I might never try again, and I'm not going to waste my life worrying."

Jackie sighed. "I guess you're right, Jade." He smiled at her. "I hope it goes better this time."

Jade laughed. "I can't imagine it going worse." This was a lie. She could easily imagine it ending worse. The nightmares had given her plenty to imagine. But what she'd said was true; she wasn't going to live emotionally crippled because of a few bad experiences. She was stronger than that. Picking up her backpack, she slung it over her shoulders, the plushie attatched to the back swinging a little, letting out a strange chortling sound. "See you later, Uncle Jackie!"

"Be back by eight!" Jackie shouted after her as she headed out.

By the amusement park, she met up with CIelo. "Hey Ci!" she greeted him happily, throwing her arms around him in a happy embrace.

He hugged her back, though his expression was worried. "Jade...are you sure we should be doing this?"

"Geeze, not you too, Ci! I already had this discussion with Uncle Jackie!" SHe sighed. "At least winning this arguement should be easier than winning the last one."

"Oh?" Cielo smirked. "How do you fig-" He was interrupted as Jade grabbed him by his shirt collar and pulled him into a kiss that anyone who observed would have found much too mature for her age.

When she released him, she smiled at him. "Now, are you really going to argue with that?"

"No dear," he said, plainly dazed.

Jade giggled. "Didn't think so. Now come on! This is our second date, and I want to enjoy it!" She grabbed his arm and towed him into the park.

Cielo smiled faintly. "Well, at least you're excited about it," he said as he paid for their tickets.

"Of course I am!" she said happily. "I mean, it's not like it'll end the same way as last time, right?"

000000000000000000000000

As Jade opened her eyes blearily and took in her surroundings, she mumbled, "I would say I stand corrected, but..." She glanced up at the floor above her head, and down at the ropes hanging her from the ceiling. "...that's kinda hard just now."

She examined her surroundings carefully. She seemed to be in some sort of temple-like structure, similar to Shendu's palace in design. Various old runics depicted symbols related to water, and everything seemed to be flowing, as though it was supposed to look like it was underwater. "Hmm...this looks unnerving." A door swung open, and Jade turned to see what was happening.

A young woman walked through the door. Jade couldn't see any details of her appearance, as she was covered from head to toe in ceremonial blue robes, covered with ancient symbols that glowed with eldritch light. She was also wearing a mask carved to look like Bai Tsa's face, and a headdress of still growing coral, crafted to frame the mask like a halo.

At first Jade was nervous at this figure's approach, but then she noticed something around her neck and smiled. "Do my eyes decieve me, or do I see a sea monkey...Li?"

Li removed the mask, smiling. "How'd you know it was me Jade?" she greeted her with a smile. Jade and Cielo had often stopped by the stand where Li worked for various snacks or reading material when heading out to deal with various supernatural events, and they had become friends with her, liking her upbeat behavior and attitude.

Jade grinned. "Recognized your mala," Jade said, indicating the buddhist praying beads Li still wore despite the style of her costume. "So...care to tell me why you're dressed up like a nightmare mermaid and I'm hanging from the celieng? This better not be Cielo's idea of a good time."

Li frowned in distaste. "Actually...I'm supposed to interrogate you."

Jade blinked. "Well, f***." She thought for a time. "THis sucks."

"I know. I'm not exactly happy with the arrangement, either, but I don't really have a choice in the matter."

"Does this have something to do with the costume? And the Bai Tsa mask?"

"...maybe." While Li wanted to tell Jade what was going on, she felt she was in a bit of a pickle, given what she'd been told and what had been happening. Besides that, she still wanted to help Chow.

Jade smiled. "Let me guess. Bai Tsa's human followers included some sort of hereditary priesthood, which you're the descendant of. So now you've been recruited by her daughter, for whatever reason, and you're going along with it because she's got Chow working for her, which is why he was water demonized when I last saw him?"

Li couldn't help but smile. "I tried to tell her you'd get more out of me than I did out of you, but she wouldn't listen. How'd you guess all that?"

Jade smiled. "Ceremonial robes says priesthood. You act like you were drafted, which means it came as a shock, which means either reincarnation or hereditary, 50/50 chance of guessing right there. Everything here is water based, up to and including CHow's new powers and your mask, which means a connection to Bai Tsa. As for guessing it's her daughter..." Jade grinned. "If it were her son, he'd be strutting around trying to intimidate me into giving answers. THus, smart daughter. Of course, all of this was true guesswork." Jade shook her head. "You're the one who confirmed I was right."

Li couldn't help but laugh. "You're incorrigible, huaidan!" she said, using the chinese word for rascal, a nickname she'd developed for Jade given her attitude and behavior.

Jade grinned. "Yeah, I know. THink you could let me down now, or is the queen b**** gonna make an appearance already?" She heard the sounds of flowing water behind her. "Speak of the devil," she muttered.

Liquidelle took form. "I suppose I should have listened to you, Priestess. I won't make the same mistake twice. You may leave now. You probably don't want to watch this any more than my interrogation of the boy."

Knowing she could do nothing more, Li bowed and left, looking apologetically up at Jade. Li went searching for Chow, seeking comfort.

Jade smirked at Liquidelle. "I'm Jade. Are you going to tell me your name, or should I make one up? Ariel? Ursula? Or does queen b**** work for you?"

Liquidelle didn't even bat an eyelash. "My name is Liquidelle. I am rather surprised at your attitude, considering the situation."

Jade smirked. "Just stalling till Cielo gets off his butt and rips you to shreds like usual."

"THat might be difficult for him, considering we are 100 feet below sea level," Liquidelle said with a smirk. "Right now, his Sky element chi is barely strong enough to keep him alive."

Jade blinked. "Oh. That's not good."

Liquidelle grinned. "Perhaps now you'll tell me what I want to know."

"Oh? What's that?"

"What...is...Cielo?" Liquidelle got in her face. "He has good chi and sky demon chi, I can smell it. It is powerful, so powerful that the only way it could have come about naturally is if he were the child of Hsi WU by one of the eight Immortals...but Hsi Wu had no offspring!" Liquidelle's tail lashed in anger. "The magic he generates once every three thousand years that allows a demon sorcerer to create offspring, he instead used to create his Battle Masters! And somehow, this boy has command of Gratch, the second strongest Battle Master. He is an impossibility. You will explain how he came to be!"

Jade blinked, and glared at Liquidelle. "And if I don't?"

Liquidelle shrugged. "Cielo also has been uncooperative. Therefor, you leave me no choice but to bring him in here and make him watch while I torture you until he breaks." There was a sudden, guttural snarl from nearby. "WHat the-"

The 'plushie' disconnected itself from Jade's backpack and leapt, slashing Jade's ropes and catching her as she fell. It then positioned itself between Jade and Liquidelle, dropping the glamour that hid her true appearance. Gurgle snarled defiance at Liquidelle.

Liquidelle took one look at the glowing green eyes and feathered wings, and her face paled. "Gurgle?" she said in shock, backing up. Liquidelle suddenly collapsed into water.

"Help me up, Gurgle," Jade said. "We gotta go find Ci!"

Nodding, Gurgle helped Jade to her feet.

In a nearby room, Liquidelle turned from her contemplation, rounding on Cielo where he was chained. "Who or what are you? Only Hsi Wu himself could command Gurgle!"

Cielo grinned mirthlessly. "That's a hard question to answer. However, if Gurgle revealed herself, then that means you threatened Jade. If you would bring harm to her...then I swear by Chaos and the Golden Light, I will not rest until I have scattered your entrails to the four winds!"

There was a sudden surge of energy from the center of the temple, and a strange glittering energy passed through the entire structure. Liquidelle's eyes went wide as she put it all together. Jade entered the room to find Liquidelle bowing to Cielo, having undone his chains. "Forgive me, honored Uncle," she was saying.

Jade smirked. "Looks like the secret's out, huh, Ci?"

Cielo stood up, smiling at Jade. He frowned at Liquidelle. "Cut that out! And I'd prefer you keep this revelation a secret if you can."

Liquidelle raised back up. "As you wish. But...how did you come to wield good chi?"

"Long answer? Not your concern. Short answer?" He smiled at Jade. "I fell in love."

Jade blushed in pleasure. "Ci..."

Liquidelle suddenly seized Cielo by his shoulder. "Then please, Uncle, help us stop the war that could tear the Earth apart!"

Jade blinked. "Say WHAT?"

Cielo, however, had a more serious question. "What do you mean...us?" 


	5. The Gathering

5. The Gathering

As the torrent of water subsided, Jade glanced around at her surroundings from under the hood of the all covering robe Liquidelle had given her to conceal her identity. The entire area was shrouded in darkness, save for a table with unusual seating arrangements. There were seven seats: one was very large, five were regular size but with unusual crystaline structures attatched, and one was a basin filled with water and kelp. There was also a strange feeling in the air, almost as though the place were not quite real.

Liquidelle turned to Cielo. "You may want to assume your demon form for the meeting," she said to him. Her voice had a tinge of worry to it.

As Cielo nodded, Jade couldn't help but smile. Liquidelle was sticking to Cielo's cover story of being Hsi Wu's descendant (as Cielo put it, it was true...depending on how you defined 'descendant') and was obviously worried about how she would explain his looking exactly like his 'ancestor.' Jade watched in smug - and a trifle guilty - pleasure as Cielo shifted into the form she had come to privately refer to as 'Hsi Wow,' which he had first assumed that day at the Winzer Mansion when she had had his chi inside her.

Liquidelle eased back from Cielo a bit. "Wow," she whispered, and Jade could see she was drooling a bit. He WAS a fine figure of a demon like this, after all, and the aura of power and primal ferocity he emitted in this form was rather intoxicating in its own way.

Jade felt a flash of anger at Liquidelle's reaction. Seizing Cielo's arm, she glowered at Liquidelle. "Mine!" she hissed.

Although Jade didn't notice herself, Cielo heard how her voice came out, the low, sibilant hiss from when she had been Queen of the Shadowkahn. He looked at her, concern writ large on his features. Liquidelle visibly flinched back from Jade. As Liquidelle's eyes were developed for seeing clearly at the bottom of the sea where light never reaches, she could see under the hood of the robe that Jade's eyes had turned red, and her skin had turned blue...just for a moment.

Smiling again, Liquidelle gestured. "The children of the Demon Sorcerers - my cousins and I - saw rather rapidly that if we each struggled for our own goals alone - as our parents had - that we would meet the same fate and likely be banished or destroyed. As such, we decided all plans should be discussed, and our course of action decided - since at the time, we numbered seven - by majority vote. This place was created for that purpose."

Cielo reached out with one arm, tasting the air with his magic. "My power's about normal here...but I can't feel any elemental energy in the area."

Liquidelle nodded. "This place is elementally null. We all have power here, but no one has an advantage."

Cielo stared at her in shock. "A place that was elementally null would be lethal to anyone with elemental chi. How is this possible?"

"Don't ask me," Liquidelle said, shrugging her shoulders. "Avalanche is the one who made it."

"Avalanche?"

"That would be me."

The good natured - almost jolly - voice issued from behind the biggest chair. The one who stepped out from behind the chair was rather impressive. He was about 25 feet tall and at least as wide, and bright green, with a few yellow rock-like protrusions coming from his body. He had red eyes and purple sideburns, though was bald on top. He was clad only in black pants, and two fangs protruded upward from his huge, freindly grin. "Been a while, Liquidelle," he greeted joyfully.

Liquidelle nodded to him. "Hello Avalanche. Sorry I didn't see you at first."

Avalanche shrugged his massive shoulders. "Quite all right. I'm often overlooked."

"But you're as bi mountain!" Jade said in shock. "How could anyone overlook a mountain?"

Avalanche's grin somehow widened even further. "Houses do it all the time."

Jade blinked for a minute, and then giggled.

Avalanche sat down in the biggest chair - not because it was a place of importance, but because it was the only chair big enough to hold him. "So, you called this meeting to give the details to...are we still calling him our cousin, or do we know the truth yet?"

At Jade and Cielo's shocked looks, Liquidelle explained. "Avalanche, like Po Kong, is a mountain, and thus eternal, and his memory infalliable. However, while Po Kong went from molehill to mountain, Avalanche ages in reverse. He has a perfect memory of the future."

As Cielo screwed his face up in confusion, Jade snapped her fingers. "You mean like Merlin in the original 'Morte de Arthur,' who was born at the wrong end of time and lived backward?"

Avalanche laughed. "Indeed. But unlike Merlin, somewhere near the beginning of my memory, I was smart enough to read all the history books...including personal accounts. So I know what happens going both ways...but my memory of exact order gets a little muddled sometimes. That's why I could make this place: the magic techniques that allow for it won't be developed for a couple thousand years."

"Wow!" Jade said in shock. "So you know what the future's like?"

"Yep! But I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

Avalanche grinned again. "Promised Semana I wouldn't."

Jade blinked. "You know Semana?"

"A long time ago, but not yet."

After a few moments of blinking, both Jade and Cielo said, "Ow," putting their hands to their heads.

Avalanche laughed. "Promised her I'd do that, too. Didn't know I'd get BOTH of ya!" He laughed harder.

"If you're done having fun," a silky smooth voice said from the shadows, "I believe we should get to the meeting."

A young seeming demon woman floated out of the shadows. Jade could tell right away from the red and purple robes this was Tso Lan's daughter. All four of her arms were rather close to human, and her blue skin was actually rather appealing. Her purple hair was tied in a topknot, and her red eyes seemed soft and wise.

Walking in at her side was a man in an unusually configured military uniform, the only symbol on it the crest of the moon. He had green skin, and wore a strangely configured gas mask on his face. All that could be seen of his features were that his eyes glowed yellow from beneath the mask.

Liquidelle smirked. "Hello Luna. I see you brought your...PET...project along with you."

Luna glowered at Liquidelle, but said nothing. The man's muscles started to flex, but Luna waved a hand at him and he subsided.

Jade looked at Avalanche. "What's with those two?"

Avalanche chuckled. "While they agree on matters of policy, they don't get along personally. Before our powers awoke, Hsi Wu used to spoil us. Since at the time he had no children of his own, he was rather fond of all of us. One day, when they were very young, they asked him which of them he thought was prettier." Avalanche chuckled again. "He said they both looked lovely. They've been catty rivals ever since!"

Cielo was carefully examining the non-existant ceiling of the chamber, not looking at anyone.

Seeing that neither Liquidelle or Luna was going to break the stare down, Avalanche sighed. "To work, then." He looked at Cielo. "As you've heard, we try to decide things in a democratic manner. When there were seven of us, that worked well, as there was always a majority vote. However, with Drago being banished to the netherworld, we have become split down the middle on the matter of our policy regarding humans. We three like Earth as is, and want to live in it under human rule. The others want to put demons in charge. Drago was firmly in their camp, and that was the policy we were following. Now..." He sighed. "Now, with a vote of three to three, this may lead to a war between us, and given the strength and nature of our power..." He placed three crystals on the table, and they began to glow, generating images. "These are our opponents, and we balance them equally. I am a counterpoint to Gust," he said, gesturing to the first crystal. The image showed a purple skinned man in leather with a green mohawk and the face of a frog. "Liquidelle balances Volteer," he said, gesturing to the second crystal. This showed a blue skinned man in green and gold armor, similar to that worn by Tchang Zhu. "And Luna...balances Terra," he said sadly, pointing to the last crystal. This crystal showed a brown skinned demon girl with large green horns.

Cielo sighed sadly as he looked at this last crystal.

Not noticing, Avalanche continued. "We each have our own views on humans, and our reasons for choosing the sides we do. Liquidelle has no interest in humans in general, but finds specific ones quite fun to play with. She touches their lives, giving them momentary greatness or power, and watches what they do with it. I simply enjoy being among them, when I take a human form." He glanced towards Luna. "Luna likes playing historical dominoes...although sometimes her actions have rather large consequences."

"Hey!" Luna snapped. "I wasn't playing when I killed that archduke in Serbia! He threatened to throw me in the dungeons if I wasn't in his chambers by nightfall! Of course I offed him! How was I supposed to know what would happen?"

Jade gulped. "You're not talking about Archduke Ferdinand...are you?"

Luna sighed. "Yeah...sorry about World War 1, kid." Seeing the way her companion was watching her, she said defensively, "It's not like I intended it to happen!"

Avalanche rolled his eyes as Liquidelle laughed. "If I may continue?" When silence fell, he gestured to the crystals. "Volteer is rather full of his father's arrogance, convinced of demonic superiority, and wants to rule because he considers it his right. Gust..." Avalanche pursed his lips in contempt. "Some human children find enjoyment in pulling the wings off flies. Gust sees humans the way those children see flies. It is hard to believe there can be such a thing as a demonic sociopath." He sighed sadly as he turned to the last crystal. "No one knows why Terra chose to be anti-human. She is...unstable."

Jade gulped. "That's pretty unnerving." She noticed Cielo was very quiet. "Ci?"

He shook his head. "It's nothing Jade." He turned to Liquidelle. "So, how am I supposed to help?"

Liquidelle smiled. "Simple. We get you appointed as this council's seventh member. With a tie breaker vote, there will be no war." She glanced towards Jade. "I imagine, given your own preferences, you would be siding with us?"

Cielo nodded. "True, although I don't like how you extended the 'invitation,' although given your circumstances, I can understand why." He resumed human form, making sure a cloak similar to Jade's was included. "We'd like to leave, now."

Liquidelle nodded. "I'll drop you off close to home, as it's getting late."

"It's what?" Jade glanced at her watch. "It's 10! I was supposed to be home by 8! Uncle Jackie's gonna kill me!"

As Liquidelle warped them away, Luna grinned. "I have a good feeling about the future," she mumbled.

Pascal Leblanc, who stood at her side, turned to face her. "Why?"

"That girl's priorities. She just found out she's involved in what may become a war between demons, and her main concern is being grounded?" Luna shook her head. "She is that confident in victory. How can we be any less?" 


	6. Mending the Shadows Offence

6. Mending the Shadows Offence

It had been two months since the meeting with Liquidelle, Avalanche, and Luna. There hadn't been any major activity - demonic or otherwise - disrupting Jade's day to day life. As such, she felt safe in deciding to finally have her third date with Cielo. With any luck, it would end better than the first two. However, both her and Cielo decided that there should be a list of protections they should bring with, just in case.

"Alright, let's go down the list. Disguised Gurgle?"

"Check." Cielo pointed happily to where Gurgle was once more disguised by a glamour as a plushie attatched to Jade's backpack. Gurgle gurgled in response.

"Spell triggers?"

"Check." Cielo held up his magic pouch, containing everything he would need for nearly any spell he might have to cast. It even contained the portable hole that connected to his mage lab.

"Magical foci? Check." Jade smiled as Cielo raised his albatross wishbone and she fingered her charm bracelet. She had found she could most effectively channel chi spells through it, and each new charm Cielo gave her amplified the spells. She looked at the last item on the list. "Secret Weapons?"

"Check." Cielo patted something in the mage pouch. He hoped he wouldn't have to use it, but it was better to have it and not need it then need it and not have it.

"Check," Jade replied, her hand idly brushing the silver flute tucked into her magic. She still wasn't sure how she'd learned to store it within her magical aura, or how she had put some of Hsi Wu's demonic chi inside of it, but if she needed to haul out the heavy magics, she knew she could do things with it she didn't even fully understand yet. "So what's your secret weapon, Ci?"

Cielo smiled, shaking his head. "Best if we not mention them. Might make us need them."

Jade sighed, nodding. "I guess you're right...but I gotta say, Ci, if I end up tied up and hanging from the celieng tonight, it better be at your place." At Cielo's shocked face, Jade giggled. "Kidding."

"I hope so," Cielo chuckled. "We're much too young to be thinking such things."

Jade shrugged. "If you say so. Now come on, you promised me dinner and a movie. What movie we seeing?"

Cielo grinned. "Well, first we'll be seeing the movie you've been wanting to see, then having dinner by the harbor. Sound good?"

"Awesome!" Jade hugged Cielo tightly, and they headed out. She had a good feeling about tonight. Nothing could possibly ruin it.

00000000000000

A young man idly strummed his guitar on a street corner, playing a soft tune. He didn't seem to notice whether or not people tossed change into the guitar case. In truth, he didn't care. The old music was too important to let it die, so he played so all would hear.

"Hello King," a soft voice said suddenly.

The guitarist didn't even miss a beat as he looked up at the young man standing in front of him. "Hello, Kero. It seems you have an advantage on me. What brings you here?" As if I didn't already know, King was thinking.

The one he called Kero smiled at him as those around moved away, sensing danger. "I came to talk. We should talk more, after all. There shouldn't be such hostilities between cousins."

King sighed. "You and I both know you came to try and swing my vote at the next council meeting. We know how this will go. We exchange a few pleasentries, you try to nudge me towards changing sides, and I flat out refuse. Then you follow our dear cousin's orders and try to take my life. Given changing form comes much easier to you, and your other form is much stronger than I am like this, I would have to change to defend myself, but I'd be vulnerable while in flux. You have an advantage, it would seem."

Kero smirked. "Since we both know that, won't you recon...what do you mean, 'it would seem'?" He began to gather his energy.

"Just this, Cousin Gust. Falling mountain crushes poison dart frog."

Gust glowered as he shifted. "What is that supposed to-"

"FALLING MOUNTAIN CRUSHES POISON DART FROG!"

Gust leapt back as something large and green crashed into the ground in front of him. It was roughly humanoid and male, and about 10 feet tall and nearly as wide. His skin was bright green, with yellow rock like spikes protruding like battle armor. The kanji read as 'Akuma' blazed in yellow on his chest. His eyes were hard as diamonds, and red hair cascaded from his head, making him somewhat resemble a cross between a Super Sayin and Akuma from Street Fighter. He grinned down at his opponent.

"EARTH DANCES ON WILSHIRE BOULEVARD!" The being lunged forward, delivering a blistering combo of punches and kicks too fast for Gust to counter, knocking him into the air. As Gust managed to recover, he landed on the figure's spiky red hair. The figure grinned.

"DANTE'S PEAK BLOWS IT'S TOP!" The red hair erupts upward like lava, driving Gust upward with both heat and physical force, dropping Gust, bruised and burned, on the ground. The figure strikes a muscle pose. "HAK FU STRONGEST THERE IS!"

"Hak," King - the disguised Avalanche - said quietly to his empowered fighter, "you've spent too much time in Hollywood."

Hak Fu turned to King. "Uhh..."

King grinned. "I didn't say it was a bad thing!"

0000000000000000

Liquidelle sat quietly in the salon/spa in her human form, getting her nails done. Feeling hopeful regarding the outcome of the events - she was sure she could get Cielo inducted to the council, and that would break the deadlock, and she'd already informed the other three regarding the subject of the next meeting - she'd sent Chow to take her Priestess - Li, her name was - home. She'd even gone so far as to craft a triggered memory spell for her, so that those she interacted with on a daily basis who were not part of this conflict would not remember her being missing. While she had no special fondness for humans in general, she had disrupted the lives of these four for her own selfish purposes, and she felt a debt was owed...at least to the priestess. The other three had apparently been involved in things like this on a repeated basis.

Suddenly, the roof of the salon tore off, and Liquidelle frowned. There was only one person so inconsiderate. The others would have used the door. "Volteer, do you have any idea how long it took to find a day spa where I could get my nails done while floating? And they even have water imported from mountain hot springs! Now I'm going to have to find a brand new one, since the people who work here won't be able to simply be made to forget this."

Volteer frowned down at his cousin. "We heard about the next meeting. Did you really think we didn't know you so well as to think you would recommend inducting another cousin if you weren't sure he was firmly in your camp?"

Liquidelle cursed under her breath. "Should have had Avalanche send the memo..."

"Terra decided it was time for a different approach to end the deadlock. Either one of you will change their vote...or one of you will die. She doesn't care which. Me?" Volteer grinned. "I like plan B." He hurled a lightning bolt.

Liquidelle leaped out of the pool, shifting to her demon form in a fluid motion as she ripped open several water pipes to try and drench Volteer. Silently, she summoned her Enforcers.

Volteer dodged to the side, avoiding most of the water. Thrusting his fists forward, he began to launch rapid blasts of lightning from his wrists, strafing.

*Get here soon,* Liquidelle thought silently.

0000000000000

Luna sat quietly on the roof of a condemned building, staring out at the city. Pascal stood beside her, watching with her. "Do you think it will work?" he asked quietly.

"Will what work?" Luna asked. This was the first time Pascal had questioned anything in their association, so she listened carefully.

"Liquidelle's plan. Do you think the other three will allow you to induct someone into the council so obviously in your camp?"

Luna sighed. She had been plagued with these doubts as well. "I don't know, but I must hope so."

"Why?"

"Because if they don't...then there will be war."

"As there should have been from the beginning!"

Pascal and Luna spun at the new voice, young and aggresive. Suddenly the building erupted, as parts of it struck out at the two while others started to take shape. Luna floated them both to a safe distance, and the building finished coalescing. Terra stood before them in her demon form, with a small army of stone golems at her back.

"Terra!" Luna shouted, shocked. "What are you doing?"

"Today, cousin," Terra said quietly, "you die." She lunged towards Luna, and the stone golems...turned and attacked the nearby civilians.

At the sound of screams, Luna floated up and turned to Pascal. "Protect the people!" she shouted, turning to face Terra. She knew Pascal was still too inexperienced with his powers to face one of them one on one.

Nodding Pascal lunged after the golems, looking for ways to knock them down.

Terra smirked as she propelled herself upward, striking Luna hard in the chin. "So predictable."

00000000000

Hak Fu continued to wail on Gust, easily knocking him about like a leaf in a hurricane. Each attack or combination was heralded by an attack name, generally drawn from movies.

"Asteroid impacts make land waves!" A spinning multi kick to Gust's chest.

"Stalled core makes hole in ozone!" A rapid sequence of hot hand strikes to a single point.

"Harry Stamper plants the nuke!" He pulled his hands back for a double palm strike.

"I'm sorry," Gust managed to gasp out. "What was that last part?"

Hak Fu glowered. "I said, Harry Stamper plants-"

Gust flipped to his hands and kicked with both legs, slamming hard into Hak Fu's face, sending him falling backwards to land heavily.

Hak Fu sat up, glowering. "What was that last part?" he muttered to himself as he got back to his feet.

At Uncle's Antiques, for some unknown reason, Tohru could not stop giggling.

The sudden attack, however, had let Gust get his wind back, and using his demon power began to even the odds of the fight.

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Liquidelle dodged back and forth as Volteer continued to strafe her. She managed to launch water at him a few times, but she knew better than to try and attack directly. He wasn't doing any heavy attacks, which meant a good portion of his electricity was stored in his skin as a defensive shield. She hoped her enforcers got here soon.

Suddenly, Volteer staggered as several heavy impacts struck him from behind. He turned and saw that the enforcers had attacked him full force...from inside giant rubber balls. Both Volteer and Liquidelle could only stare as they continued their assault.

"Where did they learn to fight like that?" Liquidelle asked at last, completely poleaxed.

"Super Monkey Ball," a quiet voice said in her ear. Li stood there in her normal clothes, but holding the stone that had revealed her heritage. "Have you got any big spells you can hit him with to take him down?"

Liquidelle nodded. "But they take too long to charge, and will leave me vulnerable."

"Let me worry about that." She held her mala in her hand. "I hope this works." She wrapped it around the stone and began to mumble the heart sutra under her breath. Stone and mala began to glow. A faint blue light energized with good chi surrounded Li and Liquidelle.

Seeing the protection, Liquidelle wasted no time powering up.

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Luna and Terra continued to spar, more or less evenly matched, although Luna's concern over Pascal and the civliains cost her several moments of hesitation, which Terra brutally took advantage of. Seeing this, Pascal continued to fight the stone golems.

However, it wasn't going well. He'd been at it for two hours and he'd only managed to take down two, and there were over 50. This was taknig too long. Suddenly, one of the golems caught him in the chin. He went flying back, crashing through a building. He groaned as he tried to sit up.

"You dropped this," a little girl whispered, holding out his gas mask.

He looked at the little girl, taking the gas mask in his hand and carefully exhaling. No gas came out. He placed the mask on his belt.

"You look kinda funny, mister," the girl said, smiling happily.

Pascal glanced at himself in the mirror. His face was as green as the rest of him, and he had no hair. His skin on his head was mottled like a snake, and two large pincers extended from the base of his lower jaw on the outside. His nose was flat, just two nostril slits, and his eyes glowed yellow. A clear line on his chin showed him the second hinge of his jaw.

"Child," he whispered, seeing some small amounts of gas still escaped when he talked, "you'd best hide."

"Okay." The little girl climbed behind the bed. "You gonna go stomp the bad guys?"

He nodded. "I am."

"Are you a superhero?"

He chuckled. "Something like that."

"What's your name?"

He paused, thinking. "Call me...Poison." He leapt out the hole in the wall, rushing towards the golems. It was time to see how much control he had of his powers. Sucking in a breath, he spat.

Tubes within his mouth on either side of his forked tongue shot a toxic substance akin to acid. It struck one of the golems and burned right through, breaking down its physical and magical structure simultaneously.

Turning to another group, he opened his mouth wide and shrieked. Suckers along his cheeks sprayed a green mist over the group, causing the golems to dissolve, before he inhaled the mist - now rich with magical energy - back into his mouth. He ran his forked tongue over his fangs and lips as he turned to the other golems. A green line of magic extended from his hand, turning into a toxic lash, which he proceeded to use to carve the remaining golems to pieces. When all had fallen, he returned to the site of Luna's battle with Terra.

He meant only to aid Luna, but this was the first battle he'd fought like a demon, and his blood was up. Lunging, he drove a sharp elbow into Terra's chin, snapping her head up. Opening his jaw wide, venom dripping from his mouthful of fangs, he lunged for her throat.

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Jade and Cielo stepped happily out of the theater. "Things are going off without a hitch for once," Jade said happily.

Cielo smiled. "Yeah. Looks like tonight's date will actually end pleasantly."

"No chance of anything getting in the way?"

Cielo shook his head. "No cha-" He froze. He was suddenly overcome with foreboding. "Jade, I have to go. Now!"

"Cielo?" Jade was shocked. "What's going-"

"No time to explain!" Grabbing her, he leapt up to the roof of the theater, sticking her behind the sign. "Please, just stay here and stay safe." Shifting instantly to demon form, he leapt into the air.

Jade tried to race after him but stopped. Glancing around, she sat down in a huff. "Stay here, he says. Like I could do anything else. This theater doesn't even have a roof access."

Gurgle crawled into Jade's lap, letting out a purling whine she hoped would be comforting.

Feeling a sudden surge of Hsi Wu's magic, Jade shuddered. "Maybe I should stay here anyway."

Cielo - in his demon form - pulled out his secret weapon...the opal he had forged eons ago as a chi amplifier. Strike Master Ice had misused it, being only partially aware of its powers...and the consequences of its use. Holding it out, he began to chant.

"Da kaimen de tiankong...Da kaimen de tiankong...Da kaimen de tiankong..." As he chanted, the opal energized with his own demonic chi, and flowed onto his claw, becoming a shaped gauntlet, glowing with immense power. In this state, it gave his old self enough power to take on any of his siblings and win with ease...but using it thusly burned off some of his demonic life force, making him weaker in the long run. It was what had made him so wizened when he'd first met Jade. Now, he could only hope this one usage would let him end the war. Holding it out, he finished the chant. "...Shifan tiantang de nuhuo!"

His chi flared and erupted, as the very air acted against his targets.

Avalanche, Hak Fu, and Gust found themselves pulled through sudden portals, appearing in the air near where similar energy pulled Volteer, Liquidelle, Finn, Chow, Ratso, and Li apart. Luna, Pascal, and Terra were also pulled there, all suspended in midair by power that held them fast, suppressing their demonic abilities. Pascal, regaining control of himself, put his gas mask back on with a shudder as Cielo appeared in the middle of them, glaring at them all in a towering fury. "I was told," he said quietly, "that the purpose of this council was to prevent war between you all. Would someone care to explain all of this?"

"Death to the one who killed my Uncle!" Terra snarled, struggling mightily against the power that held her, but to no avail.

Sighing, Cielo shook his head. "Speak, Terra. Tell me why you started this war."

Terra glowered at him...and changed. Her horns retracted, her body shrank, her hair and skin changed color. When it was finished, a four year old girl with blond hair and blue eyes floated there, glaring hatred at Cielo. "Since I was born to a human mother, I was born human. My demon power would awaken when I reached the end of human puberty...or when I could not survive without them. Mine were forced to be awakened by the human followers of Lan Caihe trying to kill me to get to my father, Dai Gui! Because of this, my physical body ceased aging...but my mind and soul did not! I've been trapped in a four year old body ever since. Uncle Hsi promised he would find a way to fix it, but..." She snarled at Cielo. "You now bear the mantle of Demon Sorcerer of Sky! Your solid red eyes are proof of that! Only the death of Hsi Wu could allow for that!" Tears fell from her eyes. "You killed my Uncle, the only one who ever cared enough to comfort me, you bastard!"

Liquidelle visibly flinched at Terra's rage and lament. Cielo sighed, then spoke.

"Hsi Wu passed the mantle to me by his own hand. And he never forgot his promise to you, Terra. He could not keep it...but I can in his stead." Reaching into his magic pouch, he pulled out a small jar with sacred runes engraved in its surface.

"Wh...what are you doing?" Terra demanded, shivering.

Cielo pulled the cork out of the jar. "Rang tu gui dadun...Rang tu gui dadun...Rang tu gui dadun..." As he chanted, the jar and Terra glowed with matching yellow lights. A small flower, glowing yellow lifted out of Terra, trailing light as it floated towards the jar. "...Zai rongqi zhong de shen," Cielo finished as the flower entered the jar. The yellow light flowed into the jar, and the light vanished as he returned the cork to its place.

As everyone dropped to the ground and the opal returned to its natural state, Terra stared at Cielo. "What did you do to me, poopyhead?" she demanded, sounding much younger. "Wha...my head feels funny."

Cielo scooped her into his arms. "I extracted the demonic half of your chi and placed it in this jar. You now have only your human chi and body...that of a four year old human girl. Your mind has already started to revert, and you will soon sleep. When you awaken, your memories of being a demon will also be stored in the jar. You will remember only being a four year old girl...though you will have to learn to control your earth element chi all over again. When you are full grown, the jar may be opened, and you will remember. Your body will then be the same age as your mind, and your balance restored."

Terra and the others all stared at him in shock. He snapped his wings to his back. The demon chi empowering Chow, Fin, Ratso, and Hak Fu fled their bodies, returning to the half demons it belonged to. He turned to Li and Chow. "Someone must care for Terra until she is grown. I would ask that you two act as her parents, that she might have a chance to know what it is like to be part of a loving family."

Seeing the power involved here - and more importantly, how important it was to everyone, especially Terra, that her second chance go right - Li took Terra into her arms without hesitation. Chow looked a bit nervous, so Cielo pulled him aside. "Yes?" he asked him.

"Look," Chow said carefully, "I know you want what's best for Terra...but are you sure that's us? I mean, we are a couple, but we're just dating-"

"For over two years," Cielo interrupted bluntly. "And do you think I don't know how long you scrimped and saved for that ring in your pocket?" As Chow flinched, Cielo rested a hand on his shoulder. "You will make your fair share of mistakes...but Terra doesn't need an expert father. She needs a loving father. Can you be that for her? Can you love her as your own?"

Chow glanced towards where Li held Terra carefully in her arms, swallowed, steeled himself, and nodded.

Cielo smiled, showing all his demon teeth. "That's all I ask. Go Chow. Caifu Zhidao ni. Yuanni zou zai qinglang wu yun de tiankong zhi xia." Magic gathered breifly around Chow, seeming to focus on a piece of paper in his back pocket, though he didn't see.

Chow blinked a bit. "Fortune guide you...May you walk beneath cloudless skies?" he translated carefully.

Cielo smiled. "In modern parlance...good luck."

Smiling, Chow nodded. He turned and went back to Li, wrapping an arm around her. Together, they walked away with their new daughter, into their future.

Cielo turned back to the other demons. "It seems the council now numbers five. Vote." He sat back, waiting for them to act.

Luna didn't hesitate. "On the matter of the human issue...all those in favor of peaceful interaction?" Luna, Liquidelle, and Avalanche raised their hands. "All oppossed?" Volteer and Gust's hands went up, Volteer's more energetially then Gust's. "The motion carries at three to two. Now, is their any new business that can't wait?"

"I feel there is," Avalanche spoke up. "The matter of Cielo's inclusion on the council. Although he now bears the mantle of a Demon Sorcerer, I feel it would be foolish in the extreme to not consult him when we make our decisions regarding how we act as a group in this world, as he has clearly demonstrated that he is more powerful than all of us. I therefor move that he be included on the council."

"I second," Luna spoke up.

Liquidelle nodded. "All in favor? All opposed?" The same hands as before. "Very well. Cielo is officially a member of this council. Have you anything to say?" she asked Cielo.

"Yes," he said calmly. "The council now once more numbers six. We need a seventh member, that matters never again come to war between us. I have seen one who fights like a demon, thinks like a demon, is a half demon, and who's power may one day number him amongst the Demon Sorcerers...as the ninth. I therefor move that Pascal Leblanc be included on the council as the Demon Sorcerer to be of Poison, as the seventh member."

"Seconded," Luna said without hesitation.

Liquidelle nodded. "All in favor?"

Luna, Liquidelle, Cielo, and Avalanche's hands went up almost immediately...as did Gust's. "Gust? What are you doing?" Volteer demanded.

Gust snorted. "This fight has shown me that there is no point in there being war between us, for any reason. To prevent that, I would gladly welcome a dragonfly as our seventh member if he could vote."

Volteer glowered at Gust for a time, then reluctantly raised his hand.

"The decision is unanimous," Liquidelle said, somewhat shocked. She turned to Pascal. "Welcome to the council."

"I'm sure you can handle the rest without me," Cielo said, turning away. "Only call me if you need a tie breaker vote." With that, he took wing and flew away, leaving the rest of them to sort themselves out.

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Jade looked up, nearly an hour after Cielo had left, as he returned. "It's about time!" she said, very purturbed. "Just where did you go that was so urgent that you had to fly off and leave me here for an hour?"

"To stop a war and save a life," he said quietly, shifting back to human.

"Oh," Jade said, her temper cooling. "So...who won?"

"We did."

"...so it's over?"

Cielo nodded.

Jade sighed, still a little upset. "You know the restaraunt we meant to eat at is closed now, right?"

Cielo smiled. "Well, I happen to know a waterfront restaraunt that is open right now..." He pulled out a lamb's tail. "In Venice."

Jade smiled wide and seized his arm. "Well what are we waiting for? But you'd better order for me. I don't speak much Italian."

"No problem," he said happily. He shook the lamb's tail twice. "Dai wo Dao Na'er...Dai wo Dao Na'er..."

The cloud of magic surrounded them, and they vanished. 


End file.
